Modern touch

Part of He's efforts to preserve the craft involves deconstructing fabrics from her collection and painstakingly documenting the weaving patterns for posterity. She has also been working with her team to add a modern touch to the ancient craft by creating contemporary-style clothing, handbags, bed linen and plush toys.

In addition, He has been teaching the craft to dozens of young students in Deqing, Zhejiang province, with the goal of getting more youths to earn a living through it.

"Weavers give homespun its first life and designers give it its second," she says. "It is only by making this craft part of daily life that it can be inherited and developed by future generations."

Song Rongyao, another Chongming native, has been going on the same route as He. Since quitting her job as an accountant several years ago, Song has been teaching people how to turn homespun into handbags, mats and other accessories in a studio that she transformed from an old warehouse.

"I wish to encourage more young people to learn about this craft. Weaving is definitely not just for grannies－it is for everyone," she says.

Among those who have developed a liking for the homespun fabric after taking Song's lessons is 23-year-old Xu Jiashu, who now works as a trainee at the studio. In her role, Xu helps Song to sort patterns and collect information that would be used to produce a manual on Chongming homespun patterns.

"The more I learn about this craft, the more I am charmed by its palettes and patterns, as well as its history," says Xu.